Page 106 of Bride of Mist
Dougal addressed the younger lad. “’Tis what I thought as well. Why would a lass as bright and beautiful as your sister wish to wed me? Aye, I’m the son of a laird. I’m the best warrior in my clan. And I did save her from outlaws in the forest, but—”
“Yousavedher?”Adam scoffed.
Dougal admitted, “To be fair, ’twas a mutual effort. Her fightin’ skills are…impressive.”
Adam raised his chin with pride, reminding Dougal of Feiyan. The lad still didn’t like the idea of Dougal courting his sister. “Maybe she was only luring you in so she could finish you off.”
It was Gellir who came to his defense. “Nay.”
“What do you mean, nay? My sister would ne’er wed a bloody berserker. She’d sooner murder him.”
“If Feiyan had wanted him dead,” Gellir reasoned, “he’d be dead.”
While that was unsettling, it was likely true. After long consideration, Adam accepted that rationale with a grudging sigh.
Gellir straightened. “So what do we do now?”
“I need ye to trust me,” Dougal said. “There’s no time to lose. Let me take the horse.”
“Take the horse?” Gellir mocked. “Why? So you can ride off and we’ll ne’er see you again? Nay.” He echoed his cousin’s earlier words. “All this talk about love and son of a laird and wedding my cousin. Maybeyou’reonly luringusin so you can finish her off.”
Adam gasped at that dire possibility.
Dougal scowled. How could he convince them he loved Feiyan and meant her no harm?
Suddenly inspired, he drew his jeweled dagger.
Adam replied by brandishing his sword.
Even stoic Gellir placed a tense hand on his hilt, ready to draw his blade.
“Nay, nay,” Dougal clarified, “the jewels.” He showed them the dagger, hilt-first. “These are rubies and emeralds. I’ll pry them out and buy back my horse. Maybe then ye won’t doubt my honor. How much did ye pay for him?”
“Thir-, forty pounds,” Adam amended.
Dougal almost choked on the figure. “He’s worth sixty,” he muttered. He should never have given Urramach to crofters, who didn’t know a destrier from a plowhorse. “These gems will earn ye more than that.”
“Feiyan’s life is not for sale,” Gellir affirmed.
“O’ course not.”
Gellir scrutinized him with suspicion. “Yet you mean to buy back your horse. Is that so you can kill her with a clear conscience?”
“What? Nay. I only meant…”
Dougal sighed. He needed to find Feiyan before she found trouble.
“Here,” he decided, tossing his dagger onto the ground before them. “Now I have no weapon at all.”
It was a drastic measure. Dougal had a price on his head. And he’d be riding into Castle Darragh unarmed. But if it got him to the keep that much faster, it was worth the sacrifice.
“So?” Adam wasn’t satisfied. “You could still—”
“Fine,” Gellir said, scooping up the dagger. “Agreed.”
“What?” Adam protested. “But what if—”
“He doesn’t stand a chance against Feiyan,” Gellir assured his cousin. “You know that.”
